Self-Publishing: Top 10 things you should know

In the past, writers who needed to publish a book had to first get an agent to search for a traditional publisher that would then look at your manuscript. However, such tedious processes have been phased out by self-publishing, which makes it very easy for writers to get their work in front of their readers without spending lots of time and money.

Here are top 10 things you should know to successfully self-publish your book,

1. Do a reality check

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, in 1994 the average household spent $165 on reading materials. However, in 2011—after being adjusted for inflation—the average household spent $115.
On the other hand, the number of books that are being published each year in the US is increasing steadily by 6% each year.

Therefore, this entails that the number of books in circulation are more than the actual demand. So, before you publish you decide to self-publish your work, do a little market survey and adjust your pricing accordingly.

2. Push out educative content

Typically, non-fictional self-published titles are the successful but regardless of whatever niche you choose, always ensure that your content is very educative and would add some value to the reader’s life.

3. Editing is very important

Grammatical errors in your work can be extremely distracting and be a major turnoff to reader and that’s why a not-for-profit self-publishing platform like Agora Publishing stands out from the rest particularly because of their commitment to ensuring that your work is of top quality.

Unlike other platforms (CreateSpace, Lulu etc.), they have self-publishing professionals who are always ready and willing to help identify flaws in your book and equally provide the necessary assistance to turn your idea into a best seller.

4. Use a suitable cover design

Getting the perfect design for your book can be crucial to your book’s success. Therefore, ensure that your book cover is attractive enough to stand out in a bookstore or online store.

One tip would be to walk into a bookstore or visit and online store and draw inspiration form existing books.

5. Have a great profile

For aspiring authors, having a great profile is vital to the success of your work, and it’s best to utilize every method available to boost your credibility.

Essentially, the better your profile, the more likely you are to make more sales.

6. Choose the right publishing platform

Self-publishing has made life very easy for writers, but the tough choice comes down to choosing the right self-publishing platform and with many out there, there’s the tendency to shoot your publishing future in the foot by making the wrong choice.

Therefore, choosing the right platform is vital to your success and one of such sites that has been offering writer the chance to self publish their books successfully is AgoraPublishing.com. Unlike other platforms such as CreateSpace and Lulu, AgoraPublishing.com goes the extra mile to ensure that your book gets published professional with the highest standards to achieve mass marketability effortlessly.

7. Get an ISBN

Most self-publishing operations typically provides authors with a free ISBN for both print and e-book format, but whatever platform provides this would be listed as the publisher.

Doing this gives your book a more professional look.

8. Choose the right title

The title of your book can typically sell itself. Take a cue from popular best sellers, their titles are so inviting.

Unlike traditional publishing houses, there’s a high probability that lots of changes would be made to your work based on their request before it can be published. However, with self-publishing, you are granted full control of the creative process, enabling you to give your book a preferred title. Therefore, let your title speak to the interest of your targeted audience.

9. Set your royalty rate

Most traditional publishing companies would offer authors—on average—a 10% share of the royalties. However, when you choose to self-publish, you can set the rate and decide to keep a larger percentage of the for yourself.

10. Marketing is crucial

You should know that books don’t just sell themselves, as no matter how great they are there needs to some form of marketing to ensure it gets read. However, the mistake a lot of self-publishers make is assuming that once they’ve acquired the services of a publicist it is enough marketing.

Nonetheless, to ensure that your book gets as much attention as you would require it to, always ensure that you exhaust every available marketing options at your disposal.Therefore, one advantage of choosing the right self-publishing platform like AgoraPublishing.com is that unlike CreateSpace, writers are provided with professional marketing services that makes it possible for a particular book to be able to achieve a high number of copies sold.